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This tight window of creative output became the cultural bedrock of the Nineties. In this nostalgic look back at a pivotal time, "Weird Al" Yankovic, C.J. Ramone and Rolling Stone journalists remember the big moments that ended the Eighties.

1989 saw the birth of the modern-era boy band, the apex of Mötley Crüe, and the first big screen Batman film (starring Mr. Mom-actor Michael Keaton). That summer, hip-hop firmly entered the mainstream thanks to acts like the Beastie Boys and Public Enemy. Meanwhile, a then-little-known band named Nirvana and their debut LP Bleach, released in June, sparked the basement rumblings of the indie-rock movement that changed music for the next decade.

"'89 should have been the end of the century," C.J. Ramone says. While it wasn't the end – it was a turning point in pop culture.